Birds become trees, and trees, birds, stars and old men change positions as easily as changing seats. Welcome to T. A. Young's collection of stories in which existence is redefined, and contradictions are the theme. The usual hierarchy of fairy tale characters is gone - all have their say, and we relish the words equally for their wisdom and silliness. Lyrical and comical, The Fairy Tale Book of Bifford C. Wellington is at once hilarious and profound. Among the tales: an aardvark has an accidental encounter with a seamstress, Horace the Frog heads west to find his story, and a critical snail offends The Number Three. Brilliantly illustrated by Theodore Gallmeyer. Young, talking about these stories on Art Speak, said, "They have lessons in them, the more hidden, the better: that mistakes can be good things, the imperfect can be better than perfect, and that sometimes stupidity is better than smartness.Theodore's cover? We have our knight, our diner, the greatest frog ever...it's the middle of nowhere and the center of everywhere. The axis mundi. Perhaps our man Wellington is like the knight, the weary, endless world traveler who finds respite in a diner in the middle of the desert. Yes, he also appears in my second book, Elephant and Rabbit As Told By Skib Bricluster...will there be a third book? Yup. It's a trilogy, so stay tuned.